#ler!darius

Being the Emperor's right hand man and faithful soldier meant you had to acquire certain mental blockades in order to do what must be done. Life will throw imminent death and devastation your way, and you must be ready with a steady hand and a clear mind. Those who do not keep their cool under pressure end up getting crushed beneath it. This fortitude not only kept you alive in the Emperor's Coven, but preserved your sanity, your state of mind. It's a skill that is reinforced with years of practice and discipline.

A skill that was doing Hunter zero favors right now.

Tonight was the last game of the Flyer Derby season, and the Emerald Entrails were determined to go out on a win. They had hit a rough patch earlier in the season, but they were nothing if not scrappy. They were the best team this side of the Isles, so there wasn't much need for worry. But that fact didn't do anything to ease Hunter's anxiety.

It was embarrassing, really. Two years ago, he was a cold-blooded soldier with a ferocious appetite for danger. Now, he was frantically bouncing his leg up and down, stewing over what could go wrong at tonight's game. Where was all that bravado when he needed it? Why was it so much easier to be brave when he had nothing to lose?

He supposes he's answered his own question.

He was feared and respected, yes, but he was not happy. He didn't even know what happy looked like. He thought he did, but he had no idea. It was an entirely new color, invisible to his naïve eyes. But once he could see its hues, they sprouted from every acre of red grass on the Isles, lit up the blood orange sky, dusted his cheeks rose-red. He hadn't realized how fast or far he had been running from fear all his life until his new friends had given him permission to stop. He was safe now. No longer under the control of Belos, no longer honor-bound by his sworn Coven. He was just Hunter. Just the spirited child that he should have been all along.

The downside of this being that his mental defenses were not what they used to be. Now that his brain knew that it was safe to fall apart, he found it difficult to pull himself back together again.

Hunter sat hunched over on the green sofa in Darius's living room (or his living room, he guessed). He had been living with the former Coven Head for a year now. They had moved past the initial stage of awkwardness that came with sharing a space together and were now perfectly comfortable in each other's presence. When Darius had brought the adoption papers to Hunter, he was strangely terrified that his fatherly affections were unwanted. Titan, how wrong he was. Hunter had nearly broken poor Darius's back with the tackling force of his hug. Ever since, the two had only grown closer, trust and safety blooming between them every day.

"Are you just going to sit there watching the floor until the game? Shall I make some tea for the long wait?" Darius asked with his usual smirk, filled with haughty sarcasm.

Hunter startled, as he had not heard Darius enter the room. He was surprised to find him looking at him incredulously. A beat passed, and Hunter attempted a fake laugh at the joke. It was more pathetic than he intended.

Darius knew the boy well enough to know when something was bothering him. Even a blind witch could see Hunter's inner turmoil from a mile away. He made his way to the boy's side and sat, eyes never leaving his

"Talk to me" he said, gentler than before.

Hunter took a deep breath, steadying his nerves, and turned to Darius.

"I don't know why I'm so nervous," he growled. "This game is no different than the others, so why does it feel so scary? I can't seem to tell my body to relax."

Hunter sighed, shoulders slumping. "I'm just being dumb, I'll be fine tonight. Don't worry."

Like Darius could help it. Like he could turn it off like a switch and continue on unburdened by his son's distress. He recognized Hunter's deflective behaviors, as they were also present in himself. He knew better than to simply leave Hunter to stew; he'd only get further trapped in his own head. Darius would not describe himself as being especially warm, but in that moment, all he wanted to do was wipe away any and all unpleasant feelings from the boy's mind.

He couldn't do that, of course. Not without a degree in Healing magic and fairy tears. Fortunately, he had a back-up plan.

Darius patted Hunter's knee, albeit a little stiffly (he still struggled sometimes dealing with other people). "How about we do some calming rituals to ease your nerves? You still have plenty of time until the game, so you can just relax and focus on releasing the tension in your body."

That seemed to give Hunter hope. He at least stopped leg-bouncing. "How?"

"I've got just the trick," Darius suddenly turned Hunter to face him on the couch. "Close your eyes."

And so he did.

"I want you to imagine your stress as butterflies in a box. The more trapped they are, the more they will flutter inside your head. Picture what the box looks like: its color, its size, its shape. Turn it over in your mind's eye, look at it, hold it, feel its weight."

Hunter's face pinched ever so slightly, concentrating very hard.

Darius continued. "Now, place the box on the ground. Imagine it resting in front of you at your feet. I want you to picture yourself opening that box, releasing all of the butterflies into the sky. Feel every one of those stressful butterflies leaving you, as your mind becomes quiet.

"Now, open your eyes."

The light in the room stung for a moment, and everything had a slight green tint. He blinked, dazed, as he realized Darius was looking at him now.

"How do you feel now?"

How did he feel? The exercise had certainly slowed his breathing, and relaxed his shoulders. He wondered where Darius had thought of that, and why butterflies? Butterflies...

Skara liked butterflies; she had a bracelet with one on it. She considered it her personal good-luck charm in Flyer Derby. Hunter hoped that she wore it tonight, they were gonna need it. This was their last chance to win.

Oh no.

With a despairing moan, Hunter flopped back into the pillows, pushing one into his face.

Darius sighed. Well, that was a failure. That normally worked for himself.

Whatever. Hunter still needed comforting, that was the main issue here.

"Perhaps we should try something else..." Darius suggested.

Hunter growled again (half of his sentences began and ended with growling). "It's hopeless! I can't stop thinking about tonight! And my gut feels all bleughh."

The older witch chuckled at that descriptor.

If the teen had caught that, he didn't show it. "I feel like all those stress butterflies are whizzing around in my stomach, ready to be thrown up."

So much for being a good parent, Darius frowned internally. He was officially out of ideas. Ah, well. If he couldn't get rid of Hunter's anxiety, he could at least draw his attention away from it. That he could do.

Darius put on a deceptively sympathetic smile. "Yes, I know what you mean. Nervous butterflies are troublesome things aren't they?" He shifted towards Hunter, cracking his knuckles. "Well, if they won't come out on their own, we'll just have to force them out."

The boy slowly removed the pillow over his face, not quite trusting that tone. At the sight of his father's devilish smile and articulated digits, his face began to break out into a nervous grin. Before he could ask what that meant, Darius buried his fingers into Hunter's belly and started wiggling them.

Hunter guffawed loudly, much to his horror. He had such an embarrassing laugh. It was high in all the wrong places and was unbecoming of a young man his age. That was what Belos had told him once. He had hated his laugh ever since. But no matter what he thought of it, he still couldn't control it. He laughed wildly as his hands waved around fruitlessly trying to protect his sensitive torso. His belly was one of his most ticklish spots, and Darius knew it too. That conniving bastard. Little shockwaves were being sent through his frame, driving him crazy, preventing him from thinking. He still couldn't decide if he hated it or loved it.

As Hunter giggled helplessly, Darius couldn't resist teasing him for it.

"This'll surely tickle them out. Look at what it's doing to you!"

Hunter turned to bury his face into the back of the sofa in an attempt to hide his cherry-red face. What he didn't know was that his blush went all the way up to his ears and was still visible when he hid his face. No one had ever pointed it out to him.

Darius thought it was adorable.

He made a thoughtful face. "Hmm. They're still some stragglers. I think we'll have to make it tickle more to really get them all out."

Hunter squealed in delightful terror. "NOHOHO! Nohoho we dohohon't!"

His torturer laughed. "Yes, yes we do," he mocked. Abandoning their place at Hunter's stomach, one hand was now climbing it's way up to the boy's armpit, while the other clasped onto his side.

Hunter cackled and twisted about, nearly falling off the sofa in all the commotion. Thankfully, there was an abomination hand waiting to support him. Curse his absurd ticklishness! He had always seen it as a major flaw, one that would deprive him of all respect from his Coven. His friends didn't seem to think of it that way, and neither did Darius. Back then, he might've been upset at being reduced to laughter like this. But with Darius, his friend, his caregiver, his adopted father- he felt completely safe. Completely and utterly loved. And regardless of whether Darius intended it, it was actually helping him relax.

That didn't mean he was going to lie there and take it.

His hands, once planted close to his trunk to try and defend himself, now swatted weakly at Darius's hands.

The older witch spoke again.

"Don't bother pretending you're not enjoying this," he admonished amusedly. "I've seen that smile of yours."

At those words, Hunter flushed a deeper red and tittered.

"That one, right there," Darius pointed, almost cooing. He knew full well that he was embarrassing Hunter by speaking like this, but he just couldn't help himself.

"YOUHUR'RE TICKLING MEHEHE, YOUHOU JERK!" Hunter cried.

"Only to rid you of your butterflies, of course."

The offending witch was suddenly met with a very aggressive hand gesture.

"Well that's just rude! After everything I've done to help you!" he gasped in faux-offense. "I suppose, then, you don't want me to do this."

The pointer finger of the abomination's hand started to burrow itself into the crook of Hunter's neck.

Said witch snorted so loud, he worried that the neighbors would come knocking asking them to keep it down. He couldn't if his life depended on it. One after the other, snorts leapt from out his nose as he tried crushing the abomination with his shoulder.

Hunter was quickly losing himself in hysteria and called out for mercy.

Darius, of course, granted it instantly. He didn't want to kill the poor child.

As he watched the young witch curled into a ball, his laughter dying down, Darius felt a sappy grin overtake his face. The need to reserve his own dignity did not compare to the immense adoration in his heart. Even if this silly game had afforded Hunter only one moment of respite, that was good enough.

With a shake of his head, he stood and turned to start heading to the kitchen.

"Well, this has been a gas, but I need to start making us something to eat so that you don't faint out on the-" Darius turned back to the child just in time to see him sitting upright, arms and legs coiled and ready to spring.

He felt a twinge of dread.

"Don't even think about it, you little- oof!" His words were cut off by the young witch tackling him to the ground. In an instant, he felt treacherous hands digging into his own ticklish spots.

His body betrayed him as he laughed uproariously. And what was worse, Hunter was laughing at him!

Oh, he was going to have to teach this little witchling when to walk away from a fight. Like any good parent should.

"Or, for short, the CATTS!"

Darius despised that name. Not because of the stupidity, and not because of embarrassment. He hated it because Raine loved to annoy him with it. Every chance they got, every set-up for a cat pun, Raine would be there to tease him about it.

Now, Raine wasn't doing it maliciously, of course. They didn't want to actually upset the other coven head. They just saw a way to make the ever-stoic and sassy Darius groan or stifle a laugh. So, like any reasonable person would, they did it as often as possible. Just to see the ghost of a smile or hear the small, choked sound of a chuckle from the man. Some days they just took it a bit too far. Today was one of those days.

-

Running through the halls of the base, Raine searched for Darius. They had the perfect idea for new masks. Luz had shown them some drawings of human-world cats, and they absolutely loved them. True, soft and fluffy isn't exactly a typical rebellion style, but that can change. At the very least, it'll be fun to annoy Darius with.

Finally, they found the abominations head. He was fixing some of the damaged uniforms and clothes for the members. Raine ran up to him, showing him the pad of paper. "Darius! What do you think of these new designs for the CATTS uniforms?"

He didn't respond for a second, waiting to see if that was a joke. When he found out it wasn't, he shook his head, sighing. A small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. "Raine, I don't even know where to- are those paw-pad gloves?"

Raine nodded excitedly, pointing to the glove design. "Yeah! I figured, since we're the CATTS, we might as well look the part. You, Eda, Luz and me even get tails." They smirked, turning the page to show him their outfits. They had Darius in a purple-themed calico cat outfit. They even had cat ears in the design. "I think they're purr-fect. What about you?"

That little... they're so dead. Using his magic, he sent an abomination to grab Raine, holding the bard's arms above their head and keeping them in place. He stood from his workbench, slowly making his way over to the restrained Raine.

"Raine Whispers... I belive I've told you about my thoughts on the whole cat thing, correct?" Darius placed his hand on their side, just resting it there. Raine nodded, squirming under his touch. They knew what was coming. "I thought so. And what, exactly, are those thoughts?"

Raine shrugged, a wobbly smile on their face. They knew they were screwed. The bard twisted and tugged at their arms, but the abomination didn't budge. Darius had them right where he wanted them. "Let me remind you: I am NOT AMUSED!"

With a playful growl, Darius dug his fingers into the bard's sides, roughly clawing and poking at the sensitive skin. Raine squealed, squirming and tugging at their goopy restraints. The abomination didn't budge.

"DAHARIHUHUHUS! PLEHEHEASE!" Darius going straight for their sides was not something they were ready for. Raine's laughter was loud and pitchy, their cheeks quickly reddening. It was their worst spot, after all.

"Please? I remember saying that many times when you would make cat puns or annoy me with that cursed team name. And, as I'm sure you remember, you did not stop. It's fitting that I shouldn't either."

Darius was enjoying himself. Sure, it's a bit childish, but it gets the job done. He would never harm his friend, and the tickling gets his message aross just fine. Did he need to be so cruel about it? No, but that's half the fun.

That "fun" is a very different story when you're on the receiving end. Sure, it wasn't awful, but their death spot for too long was getting a bit intense. "COHOHOME OHON! GAHAHA- GOHOHO SOHOMEWHERE EHEHEHELSE!"

His fingers immediately moved up to Raine's neck, fluttering his fingers across the pinkened skin. He didn't wanna push their boundaries. Their loud, shaky laughter turned to squeaky, almost childish giggling. It did nothing to help their blush, the red color quickly spread further down his neck and to his ears.

"Dahahahariuhus! Quihihit it!" They scrunched up their shoulder as best as they could, trying to block Darius's hands. "Maybe someone should've laid off on the feline puns." He was honestly just having fun teasing the bard at this point, though they didn't need to know that.

Raine didn't know if their face could get any more red. Their bouncy, squeaky giggles were music to Darius's ears. Though he couldn't stay there forever. That'd just be unfair, both to him and Raine. He let his hands drift downward, stopping on the bard's ribcage.

Their gigging ramped back up into laughter, though it wasn't half as loud as before. Raine tugged at their arms, but to no avail. Darius's magic held them firmly in place and at his mercy. "You know, you've really brought this upon yourself. I've told you countless times not to bring up the cat thing around me. Yet you still press me, daily, on the matter. It's almost as if you wanted this."

The bard shook their head, hastily denying the comment. They knew he was just teasing, but still. Raine wasn't exactly aiming for this result, but it's not unwelcome in the least. They might've wanted to make Darius chuckle, but they weren't against having a laugh themselves. No reason for Darius to know that, though. "GEHEHET OFF! DAHAHARIUS!"

Darius suddenly got a very fun, very mean idea. Inspired by his friend's words, he pulled his hands away, hovering them over their sides. "Alright then. If you wish, I'll stop touching you." He teasingly wiggled his fingers, just shy of meeting their skin. They giggled and twisted around, eyeing his hands nervously. Oho, that prick-

"Dariuhuhus! Thahat- this ihisn't fair!" The abomination covenhead just huffed, shaking his head. "You need to make up your mind, Raine. 'Touch me, don't touch me.' It's rather confusing." He acted like he was going to go for their sides, faking them out at the last moment. The bard squealed and jolted out of instinct, making the other coven head laugh.

"I'm not even touching you, Raine. If you're that ticklish, I think you should invest in some body armor. I mean, if Belos found out about this, you'd be toast. A few illusionists sending some feathers near your sides and poof: no more revolution." He wiggled his fingers teasingly, drawing a line in the air right above their stomach. It was kinda cute how they giggled and squirmed at the almost-touch.

"Wohohohould you juhust- quihit! This ihis ehehevil!" They hate anticipation. It's just... why? They know he's gonna tickle them again, why drag it out like that? Their giggles bounced around the room as they squirmed like a worm on a hook.

"Why would I ever do that? And what do you mean by quit? Quit stalling and tickle you again, quit teasing you, quit calling you out? There's a lot of possibilities here, Raine. You've got to be specific."

He smirked, just hovering his hands over their sides. His fingers twitched absent-mindedly, sending shivers down the other's spine. Raine knew they weren't getting out of there without getting tickled again. Might as well own it.

"Juhust- shut uhup ahand t-tickle me ahalready!" Darius could've been very mean. He had plenty of things to tease the bard with. Their burning cheeks, stuttering on the t-word, eagerness to get wrecked. But he didn't. He dug his fingers into Raine's sides once again, clawing and scratching and wiggling his fingers on their death spot.

Raine all but shrieked. The anticipation had made everything twice as bad, their laughter loud and boisterous. It's not something you see- or hear -every day. "NAHAHAHA! DAHAHARIUHUHUS! IHIT- GAHAHAHA!"

The man was silent, just smirking as he wrecked the poor bard. Even though they had literally asked for it, Darius would feel guilty if he teased them. At least for the moment. He just tickled them, his fingers scribbling mercilessly against Raine's sides.

Barely two minutes later, Raine was practically done. Their squirming had almost stopped, their laugh taking on a wheezing edge. If not for the abomination, they would have collapsed by now. Seeing the behavior shift, Darius slowly stopped his tickling, rubbing at their sides to try and calm the phantom tickles. "You alright, Raine?"

Said bard all but went limp in the abomination's grip, hanging their head as they got the rest of their giggles out. They were exhausted, the tickling thoroughly tiring them out. Darius chuckled as he wrapped an arm around them. He dismissed the abomination, catching before they could faceplant. They mumbled a "thanks" before going limp in his arms.

Darius led them over to their bunk, laying them down and pulling the thin blanket over them. Raine didn't react much as they melted into the soft mattress. Darius shook his head, unable to wipe the smile off his face as he left them to rest.

"Plehehease just get on with ihihihit!" Hunter pleaded, stuck underneath Darius on the couch.

"Get on with what, little prince?" He asks smoothly, pulling up the kids shirt.

"Dahaharius!" He whines, putting his hands on his face.

"Hm?"

"Plehehehease juhust- juhust dohoho ihihit!"

"Do what?"

"Yohohou knohohow whahahat!"

"Mm... do I?"

"Yehehehes!"

"Maybe you should tell me what I need to do. To get on the same page." Hunter whined, and Darius smiled at his dramatics. "Oh, come on, kid. It can't really be that bad."

"Dahaharius!"

"Maybe you're having trouble pronouncing it. Tickle. Ti-ckle. Tickle. You try."

"Ihihi hahate you sohoho muhuhuch!"

"Well fine." Darius feigned offense. "I won't tickle you then."

"Wait nohoho!"

"Okay, I'll give you a choice." He says. "You either ask me, or, you count down from 5." Hunter whined, desperate for Darius to just tickle him already.

"Plehehease?"

"Please what?"

"F- five." Darius raises his hands into a claw, slowly lowering his hands, getting closer to his tummy. "Four."

"Good job."

"Three... two... I can't."

"You've come this far, little prince."

"One." Darius nods, fingers nearly touching the skin. Hunter took a deep breath. "Go!"

“Ow!” Hunter yelped as his needle poked through the fabric too hard and hit his finger for the sixth time that day. “Darius, what am I even doing wrong?” 

“Nothing.” Darius responded with a tired sigh. “You just need to be more careful. These things take practice. It would do you some good to learn some patience.”

The two were alone in Darius’s study, all work for the day completed early enough to make time for a brief sewing lesson. Hunter frustrated and Darius running thin on tolerance though, they were making far from progress. 

“I don’t even get why I have to learn how to do it this way! You can do it with your abomination magic easy! Isn’t there anything like that I can do?” Hunter complained.

“As I have explained to you hundreds of times already, it makes it easier to do it magically if you do it this way first. Besides, unless you plan on taking years and years learning abomination magic for such a menial task, you shouldn’t be comparing our abilities. Though I’m beginning to have my doubts on your dedication to learning how to sew.” Darius brought a hand to his own temple and rubbed it firmly. “Now if you want my help that I am so generously giving you with what little spare time I have, I suggest you pick that needle back up and try again.”

Hunter huffed from his position on the floor and gave a slight glare to his mentor as he reluctantly obliged. He continued his work in silence, Darius’s firm gaze fixed upon him. 

“You’re going to tear the fabric if you keep pulling though it that hard. You need to relax.” Darius pointed out, taking care to keep his voice calm so as not to make the situation worse. 

“Well maybe I could relax better if I wasn’t so awful at this!” Hunter burst out, tossing his project onto his lap. 

“Don’t say things like that. Like I’ve said, you just need time and practice.” Darius reprimanded.

“But it’s true, Darius! I’m terrible at this! I’m terrible at sewing, I’m terrible at being in the Emperor's Coven, I’m terrible at making friends! I’m just terrible!” Hunter felt his face go red and the beginning of tears sting his eyes.

Okay, maybe this was about more than sewing. 

The two sat in tense, stunned silence.

Darius didn’t know what to do. Never before had he seen such raw emotion from the boy across from him. He supposed it was a mark of their newfound closeness to each other and felt a slight sense of pride at the thought. That being said though, he had very little experience with comforting others, especially teenagers saddled with more than anyone should ever have to take on. Sure he had his own experience and that of his friends from distant years ago but the tests of time had left Darius unable to fully grasp what the young boy was going through. 

Wait. 

Thinking back to his own teenage years reminded Darius of a particular game he and those close to him used to enjoy in times of need. It was definitely worth a shot.

“I think we’re both overdue for a break.” He broke the silence, making Hunter look up at him, rubbing his eyes in the process, already embarrassed of his outburst. “I suggest we play a game of sorts.”

“Shouldn’t I be working on sewing? Like you said, neither of us get much time to do this kind of thing.” Hunter questioned softly.

“Which, little prince, is exactly why we should step back for a moment and take a break.” Darius said with a soft smile. “Working while in your current state won’t make you much progress. You’ll improve at a higher rate later on. Consider it training.”

“Okay.” Hunter said, quickly adding “But only because it will help me get better at sewing.”

“Whatever you say.” Darius rolled his eyes, not entirely convinced.

“So what do I even need to do for your game anyways?” Hunter asked.

“It’s better demonstrated.” Darius walked over to Hunter, sat on the floor in front of him and moved any fabric and supplies well out of the way. “You have a particular habit of talking about yourself in a less than complementary way.”

“Well tha-” Hunter fruitlessly began. 

“Hush. You asked for instructions and I am giving them to you. This game is meant to combat that habit of yours. If you are uncomfortable at any point, just say something and I will stop at once. Understood?” 

“Understood. Though I’m still confused on-” 

“You won’t be for much longer.” Darius, without further hesitation clawed his hands and grabbed Hunter’s sides, squeezing them rapidly.

Hunter had no time to prepare for the sudden onslaught, making him all but scream with unexpected laughter. “AHEHEAH WHYHY?” He screeched.

“For every negative comment you make about yourself, you get this,” He emphasized with a particularly rough squeeze, “For another minute. As you have already made six, this may be a long game for you.” Darius briefly removed a single hand to form an hourglass out of abomination goo and let it begin to drip, signifying the time Hunter had left. 

Hunter, still helplessly laughing at his mentor’s touch, looked at the hourglass, torturously slow dripping down. “I caHAHAHN’T MAHAHAKE IHIHT THAHAHT LOHNG.”

“Hm. That’s too bad.” Darius’s voice was too monotone to the point that any words he said so casually teased the younger to absolute bits. That was definitely on purpose. “Well, I believe doubting your ability gets you another minute.” He moved to squeeze rapidly at Hunter’s hips, sending him into further hysterics as he watched the top of the hourglass fill with more goo. 

“NOHOHO NOHOHOT THAHAT, IHIHM SOHORRY.” He just barely was able to get out through his own laughter. 

“Don’t act like you don’t enjoy this. You’ve barely been trying to get away and you haven’t asked me to stop once, despite saying you would.” Darius pointed out, aside from a steadily growing smirk, emotionless as ever as Hunter flushed at his words. “If you’re really soooo sorry, you can give yourself two compliments and have a minute taking off.” 

Hunter squirmed back and forth on instinct, and had it been really anyone other than Darius, he might have been able to get away but unfortunately (or really fortunately) the older man was far stronger and was easily able to keep Hunter in his grasp. “I CHAHAN’T THIHINK OF ANHAHAYTHING.THEHERE’S NOHOT MUHUHCH TO COMPLIMEHEHNT”

“What a shame. That’s another minute. It’s almost as if you’re doing this on purpose.” Darius said smugly, moving one hand from the boy’s hip to quickly scribble over his stomach.

“I WAHASN’T THIHINKING.” Hunter squealed as Darius brushed over a particularly sensitive spot. “I DIHIHDN’T MEHEAN IT.” He racked his brain for anything he could say about himself to make up for his slip up but the tickles were making it a little hard to think clearly. He then remembered the very thing that got him into this mess in the first place. Yeah. He could use that. “IHI’VE BEHEHN WORKING HARARD OHON SEWHING AND IH”VE GOHOTEN A LIHITLE BETTER”

Darius sighed, “I’ll take it.” A thin layer of goo dissipated from the top of the hourglass, “Though I’d argue that “working hard” and “a little better” are not  sufficient complements.” He figured he should show at least a little mercy and count Hunter’s half-baked attempt regardless.

“I CAHAN’T THIHINK STRAHAIGHT, IT TIHIHCKLES. CUHUT MEHE SOME SLAHCK.” He demanded.

“Oh does it now? It’s almost as if that’s the whole point of this exercise, little prince.” Darius quipped sarcastically. “Though if you really want it to tickle, I suppose we could work something out.” Without any further warning, Darius moved both hands to swiftly prod and squeeze at Hunter’s ribs, causing a scream to ring out from him at the sudden intensity. “This is a bad spot, isn’t it?.”

Hunter didn’t have a clever retort or really any words as he had no choice but to sit back and lose himself in happy laughter. At one point or another he had leaned his head back and shut his eyes, so it came as a surprise when he heard a “One more minute” from a voice above him. 

Darius began to slow down his hands in an attempt to ward away at least a little of what was sure to be lingering sensitivity when the minute was up. He lightened his touch and moved again to his sides, leaving Hunter in constant giggles, as opposed to the screaming of earlier. 

He finally stopped the tickling and moved back to give Hunter room to breathe through the remainder of his laughter. “Are you feeling alright?”

“Yeheah. After all, Ihi’ve been through haharder training.” Hunter giggled

“I’m glad. If you’d like, we can go back to sewing after a bit of a break. We still have a little time.” 

“Thahat sounds good, but I sthihill need a bit of a breather.” 

“I believe we can work that in.” Darius fondly smiled at him. 

It was truly an odd sight to see Hunter so comfortable and happy and… relaxed. Darius didn’t think anyone had seen him like this in years. He realized with his own smirk and teasy eyes, he might have looked the same to Hunter. They were incredibly lucky to have each other.

----

It was a beautiful sunny day in Bonesborough, with no signs of boiling rain. Kids were playing outside, and young witches were training. One young witch in particle had finally gotten his guardian(dad). Hunter had been begging Darius to train him since he started living with the abomination head. At first, Darius just wanted Hunter to relax from all the crazy stuff that had happened over the past month or so, but Hunter was persistent. He always brought up how he needed to learn what his new magic could do. A good agreement, but Darius was stubborn and made hunter relax as much as he could. After asking and asking Darius finally agreed with a tired but playful smile. He was just happy Hunter was a lot happier and healthier, both physically and mentally. 

“Alright Hunter, we aren’t going to be any type of hard training. We are just going to take it easy-”

“Darius I don’t want you to go easy on me! I won’t get better if you to challenge me! Plus I’ve had way worse done to me so you don’t need to worry!” Hunter flashed a smile, while somehow talking cheerfully about his dark past. Darius reminded himself that Hunter need to get him a therapist. 

“I understand that little prince but- how do I put this. So think of today kinda like a stretch to get your body moving before we get to the heavier stuff. Today is just to ease you back in. Does that make sense?” Darius knows the blonde hates pity so he knew he had to put it in a way that it didn’t sound like pity. 

“Oh I guess that’s smart,” Hunter responded once he understood that it was like stretching.

“All lets start with actual stretching to warm up.” Darius led Hunter through some simple stretches while maybe poking him in the belly and slightly tickling him, just to get him giggling. He thought Hunter’s giggles were brighter and more warm than the sun. He has worked hard to make sure his little prince(son) smiled more. 

First thing they started with was simple dodging. Darius made some abominations to chase after and try to corner hunter. Hunter, in response, would teleport or easily dodge. It was easy for Hunter, Darius knew that but again easy stuff. But Hunter decided that he would take this to playfully be cocky to Darius. Darius loved the banter, because he knew that Hunter felt save to be able to do that.

“Wow this is so easy Darius, I though you were like this big tough coven head? Maybe your the one that needs training,” Hunter said with cockiness in his voice.

“Oh please blondie, if I wanted you I could take you down easily.”

“Nope you can’t! I’m to cool for you” Hunter knew that Darius totally could but it was fun to tease the older man. 

“Little prince, we both know that you can barely handle getting tickled on your tummy. If your enemies knew that they could take you down from that, while cooing about how absolutely adorable you laughter and smile is,” Darius loved to point out that Hunter was extremely ticklish, a side effect of being incredible touched starved. Tickling was a way that they could bond and it encouraged Hunter to laugh and that it was ok to be a kid. 

“Hey! Thats not true!” Hunter blushed furiously. Darius just chuckled. They go back and forth. Each time getting a little harder. At one point Darius decided to test if Hunter was still good at looking at his surroundings. He summoned a couple abmoninations infront of the boy, while putting one at the back. He and Hunter go back and forth teasing Hunter destorying the abominations. Then suddenly without warning Hunter is lifted and trapped in the arms of an abomination. 

“What? Darius this is cheating,” Hunter started squriming. He never noticed that Darius summoned one behind him. He started frowning and feeling like he wasn’t as good as he used to be. Darius let him down from the abomination and walked up to him and put a hard on his shoulder. 

“Don’t look sad and don’t worry about that I was just testing. It’s all about learning,” the dad sense could tell that Hunter was beating himself down. 

“I used to be so good at surveying my surroundings! I was the golden guard for titan’s sake,” Hunter could feel himself getting frustrated. Darius but his hand under the boys chin and lifted his head gently making Hunter look at him. 

“Hunter is okay not to be good at everything. You are learning that’s why we are training. To get better. So stop beating yourself up. You did great.”

“I didn’t though! You went easy on me! I should have been better.”

“I don’t like seeing you sad, so i think you should laugh.” Immediately Hunter knew what Darius meant, and he started to blush. He was now distracted from not being the best, he was now focused on the fact that Darius was getting closer with tickle claws.

“Darius, no I’m not sad anymore! No tick- um, none of those.” Hunter could feel the butterflies swarm his belly and giggles fill up him throat. Hunter started to move backward, Darius moving forward with a smirk. 

“Oh I think you do need tickle little prince. I need to hear you laugh to prove to me that you aren’t even thinking about the thought that you aren’t [erfect and it bad.” Hunter decided that this would be a good time to turn the other direction and run. Of course Darius saw this coming, as Hunter tended to do this when the promise of tickles was made. So Darius summon an abomination to grab Hunter and bring him to Darius.”

“Darharhius nohoh, I don’t nehed them,” the closer Hunter got Darius the more he squirmed and giggles fly out of him. Before he knew it, Darius was right near him. 

“Oh hello little prince,” that was all was said before Darius started tickling Hunter’s belly. His squirming had accidentally made his shirt his up, ‘bad’ for hunter great for Darius. As soon as Darius’s fingers touches Hunter’s tummy, all the giggles hunter was hiding flew out. 

“Darhahrius nohohoh *snort*.”

“Awww there we go. There’s that adorable laugh filled with those snorts! See you not even thinking about earlier.” Darius moves his fingers between Hunter’s belly and his hips. Hunter was full on belly laughing and squirming furiously.

“Oh my, you are being a wiggle worm. Maybe I should start calling you giggle prince or wiggle prince.”

“Nohohoho nohoht thahat nihicknahame,”

“No? Okay I’ll stick with little prince just for you.” 

Hunter’s face was getting redder and redder obviously flustered beyond belief. Hunter was feeling better and lighter completely forgetting about feeling sad. Tickling did really make him feel better, even if it was embarrassing and flustering. 

Darius decided to end with a the most ticklish thing that was known to man. The dreaded raspberries. He took a large breathe and placed a giant ticklish raspberry on Hunter’s neck. Hunter’s laugh rises in octaves, so high Darius was actually surprised of how high it got.

“DHAHAHAHAD,” Hunter screeched, accidentally calling Darius, dad. After the massive rise in octave his laugh go silent and he fell limp completely tickled pink. Darius let hunter get the rest of his giggles out and when he was sure Hunter would fall over from phantom tickles, he had the abomination let him down. 

“Now no more bad-mouthing yourself alright? Or I’ll do that again.” Darius said putting his arm around the blonde boy. Said blonde boy smiled and nodded. Neither mentioned the fatherly name that Hunter screeched out, but it warmed Darius’s heart to know that Hunter thought of him like that. 

Why him? Out of every other coven head, why was HE picked to accompany the golden brat on a mission? It was ridiculous! He wasn’t a babysitter! Ugh. Stupid childish little brat. He brought shame to the Golden Guard’s legacy. Why was a 12 year old given this position anyways?

“We’re almost at the drop off, should just be another hour or so.” the annoyingly squeaky voiced tween of the hour piped up. Titan, his voice was so grating sometimes. “Thank you little prince, I never would have been able to guess.” Darius grumbled. “Remind me why we had to WALK there? Why not take an airship, or a carriage?” “The package is too delicate and too volatile. Bringing it too high and it could explode. If the road gets too bumpy, it could break and… also explode. So walking is safer, as well as keeping it contained in your abominations. Less impact means less danger for the package and us.” the brat explained clinically.

That was another thing Darius didn’t like about this boy. He was so… professional. He was only 12, yet he spoke and acted like he was years older. It was… unsettling at times in all honesty. “Whatever. I still think there are better ways this could have been handled.” he scoffed, crossing his arms in a very not pouty way.

“Then you can bring those up with the emperor.” the tween replied. Apparently he was playing the game of “lets see how much I can annoy Darius today”. Bloody brat.

Darius huffed as he looked around them, scanning for danger, or for anything to distract him from his misery. It was a rather beautiful day, and the forest was teeming with life. Eberwolf was more the animal person, but even Darius could appreciate the wildlife around him. Little creatures flitting about, playing and rough housing, singing their songs to attract their mates. Bugs crawling about, looking for their next meal. He even spotted a few little creatures that he knew quite well, given how… playful Eber could be.

He couldn’t help but smile a bit as little cotton bees floated around them, the little puffballs simply bumbling wherever the breeze took them. They were sweet things, one of the few creatures in the isles that didn’t try to kill you. They could be quite affectionate though, which given how fuzzy and… well for lack of a better word, tickly they could be, Eber liked to summon them simply to make him squeal. Embarrassing at the best of times.

There were also some fuzzbutt caterpillars, devilishly smart creatures. They had extraordinarily long lives, and sometimes bonded closely with witches, like pets. They were affectionate, fuzzy, and had an awful powder coating their bodies that made skin much more sensitive. True tickle monsters in their own right. And that wasn’t even getting into their other form, feather moths. He shuddered just thinking about those dastardly things.

He was brought out of his thoughts by… an unexpected noise from his companion. “Did… did you just squeak?” “No!” the golden brat quickly replied, “I-I just thought I felt something odd. But it’s noth-ING! AH!” Darius was a bit alarmed now, the boy’s odd shriek making him wonder if they were under attack. He summoned his abominations and looked around. “Is someone there?! Whoever you are, know you’re dealing with an official coven head who already doesn’t want to be here, and is not afraid to take his frustration out on someone else!”

“N-no! We’re not under attack! I-I don’t think.” the tween said quickly.

“Then what in the isles was that noise for?” he huffed back.

“I don’t kn-OW! Ehehe! W-wahahait! No! Whahat is that!?”

Darius looked on… dumbfounded as the boy began… giggling? Why in the world was he giggling? He took a closer look at the child and finally spotted it. There was something crawling under his tunic! “I see… well it’s good to know we’re not under attack. Or… at least I’m not.” he smirked.

“Whahahat do you mehehean!? Whahahat’s gohohinn on!? What ihihihis this!?” he giggled, hugging his midsection and looking utterly lost.

“You seem to have made a little friend.” Darius replied coolly, using an abomination tendril to lift the boy's tunic a bit, revealing the little fuzzbutt that had managed to crawl onto his stomach. “Don’t worry, they’re harmless. Just tickly.”

“W-whahat’s thahat mehehan?” he asked, another squeak bubbling out.

“What does what mean?” “T-tihihicky! Whahat does it mehehan!?” Darius blinked in genuine confusion, “Do you… little prince do you really not know what “tickly” means?”

“N-nohohoho! I dohohohon’t!”

Wow… that was a bit sad. He’d never been tickled before? It was such a basic form of affection for children. “Well… it’s what you’re feeling right now! The thing that’s making you laugh so much. That’s tickly.”

“Ihihihit’s weheheird! Gehehehet it ohohohoff!” the boy squealed. Darius barely held back a coo, this was… honestly adorable. He’d never been fond of the boy, but… well it was hard to deny how cute he was when he was blushing and giggling up a storm.

“Mmm… in a bit, maybe. You seem to be having so much fun, and growing boys need to laugh sometimes.” Darius hummed, dusting off a log to sit on as the child fell onto the forest floor, squealing and snorting away, his little legs kicking out, similarly to a puppy.

“N-nohohoho! We hahahahave a mihihihission! EEP!” he squeaked, another shriek coming out as a second fuzzbutt joined the fray. Hunters laughter grew louder, and a bit more frantic as he screeched. “NYAAAAHHAAHAHAHA! IHIHIHIHIHIT’S-IHIHIHIHIHIT’S T-TIHIHIHICKLY! DAHAHAHRIUS! HEHEHEHELP!”

Darius simply pretended to look at his pentsagram, the kid needed to loosen up anyways, this was for the best.

Hunter snorted loudly, an unfairly cute noise from the brat. “P-PLEEHEHEHEHEHEHEASE! AHAHAHAHAHAH! G-GEHEHEHEHET THEM OOOHOHOHOFF!” Darius sighed, but hearing the beginnings of genuine distress in the boy's voice, carefully removed the little bugs with his abominations. “There. Now that wasn’t so bad was it? I’m sure the sensation of “laughter” if foreign to you, right?” The tween simply lay there, giggling still, curled into a ball as his ears twitched and he gave little puppy-like kicks. “N-nohoho, I cahahan laugh… Titahahan that was ahahawful.”

Darius couldn’t help but chuckle, “Oh come now, it can't have been that bad. You seemed to be having such fun!”

Hunter sat up and stretched, “It was… odd. Not the worst thing in the world I suppose, but I’m not too keen on doing it again. Come on, we still have a fair bit of ground to cover.”

Darius scoffed as he rose, following the boy at a leisurely pace, “My my, still so serious. You know it won’t kill you to loosen up now and again!”